NEW DELHI 

India surpassed 50,000 coronavirus deaths Sunday, according to health officials, and number of infections rose to 2,589,682, including 677,444 active cases with 1,862,258 discharged.

“USA crossed 50,000 deaths in 23 days, Brazil in 95 days and Mexico in 141 days. India took 156 days,” the health ministry said in a tweet.

It claimed with the sharp dip below 2% in the mortality rate, India has one of the lowest rates of coronavirus mortality globally.

“Mortality rates are low in India because of aggressive testing and early detection coupled with quick isolation and effective treatment protocol,” it said.

The recovery rate climbed to 71.9% with 1,862,258 people discharged from hospitals after recovering from the virus.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said 29,309,703 samples have been tested through Aug. 15 and 746,608 were tested Saturday.

Meanwhile, the southern state of Karnataka reported its highest single-day spike with 8,818 cases in the last 24 hours. The tally in the state has now crossed the 219,000 mark.

The death toll stands at 3,831 as the state has witnessed almost 100 deaths daily.